A Friendly Reminder

Over the last few weeks I have had several questions regarding replacing divots in the fairways. Not specifically about how to replace them, but more in regards to why individuals are not replacing them at all. My honest answer to that question is that I don't really know, but it has certainly escalated to the point where I feel like I need to give everyone a gentle reminder to make sure that they get replaced regardless of size or shape. I will also use this opportunity to remind you to please use the Practice Facility for practice and not our fairways (see photo below).

 Practice divots not replaced on #2 fairway

The follow-up question always seems to be "Why don't we have sand on the carts?". When sand is available on the carts, it is human nature to go to the quickest/closest solution. We have found that when sand is on the carts, there is very little, if any, attempt to retrieve a divot. A perfect example is the par-3 tees. We provide sand for the divots, but how many divots are actually replaced? I won't spend this entire post reviewing common course etiquette, but will refer you to a post from two years ago as a reminder. The post can be found by clicking here. Some of the agronomic references in the linked post don't necessarily apply right now, but the basic concept of course etiquette still holds true.

Below are some sample photos that I took this morning to use as an example to answer some of the questions about divots and ballmarks.

Fairway Divots:  If the divot contains roots, it has a very good chance to survive. Regardless of size or shape, please replace any turf that is removed after a shot. Not every divot will recover, but by replacing what is removed, it gives the divot the best chance for survival and also keeps the course clean and minimizes the damage to mowers from divots that are not replaced.

Large, deep divots have a very good chance for survival. 

Thin divots like this have a decent chance to survive, but it
depends greatly on the weather.

Skimmed divots generally will not recover, but should be replaced
out of habit to help keep the course clean and fill the void left by
the shot.

Ballmarks: it takes approximately 5 seconds to properly repair a ballmark. A properly repaired ballmark will completely heal in 24 hours. An unrepaired / improperly repaired ballmark will take 15 days to recover on its own.

Note: Never push down on your repair tool to bring soil to the surface.
(Click for a larger view)

If the end result of repairing your ballmark looks like this, it was
not repaired properly.